Foldable game board with game piece seating and storing means



" Ans- ,1969 4 FERIKSSON 3,462,150 v 1 FOLDABLE GAME BOARD WITH GAME PI Ec1; sEA I N0 AND s ronme MEAQNS" I Filed Jan. 17, 1966 Y I Q. \/I 1 3 IN V EN TOR. Y

aw W V United States Patent Office 3,462,150 Patented Aug. 19, 1969 FOLDABLE GAME BOARD WITH GAMEPIECE SEATING AND STORING MEANS Folke Eriksson, Villa Ulfsbo, Tranghalla, Sweden Filed Jan. 17, 1966, Ser. No. 521,003 Int. Cl. A63f 3/02, 3/00 US. Cl. 273-131 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Game apparatus including a board having a number of positions, symmetrically disposed, onto which a plurality of movable pieces'may be placed by two or more players, some of the pieces having two opposed surfaces with different colors and the remaining pieces having one of the The present invention relates to an improvement in appliances for playing a board game comprising a board with a number of places or positions, preferably systematically disposed, for a plurality of counters or pieces for two players or teams of players, said pieces having two opposed surfaces adapted to be placed selectively on the various positions on the board.

Many board games of this kind are already known. The British patent specification No. 512,541 discloses a board game with twin-coloured counters which can be turned upside down on a boa-rd which is collapsible.

The present invention has for an object to provide an increased variety and thrill created by the course of the game by providing a board game which is distinguished in that the major number of the pieces each have two inter se distinctive characteristics such as for instance two different colours, one on each of their two opposed surfaces of which one, namely the one intended to be turned towards or face the board, is concealed, while the remaining pieces have one and the same of said two distinctive characteristics, e.g., one and the same of the two colours, on both of their opposed surfaces.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawing, on which FIG. 1 illustrates a vertical cross section and FIG. 2 a perspective view of a piece formed as a ball and having a protective shield or screen, FIGS. 3 and 5 are cross sections of the board in folded-out and collapsed condition, respectively, while FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the folded-out board.

With reference to the drawings a board 1 for the game according to the invention is provided with a number of piece places or positions disposed symmetrically and preferably rhom'bically. The number of the positions is not critical and can be selected relatively freely with respect to the size and form of the game; in the present case, however, the position number amounts to 23. Although, chiefly for esthetical but also for practical reasons, the board in the present embodiment has been given a shape like a mussel shell, it will be appreciated that it may also have any other shape that is suitable with respect to the rules and the character of the game.

The major number of the counters or pieces 3 which in the present case have the form of balls are provided on each side of a horizontal and diametrical plane with one of the two different distinctive characteristics. In the present embodiment said characteristics consist of contrasting colours, such as black and white, but of course they may also be patterns in the surfaces, indices or other marks, etc. The rest of the pieces, usually one piece for each of the opponents, are also formed as balls; they have, however, one and the same of said pair of distinctive characteristics on both of their opposed halves, and this is the feature that primarily increases the thrill and richness of variations of the present game in relation'to prior art.

In the embodiment with pieces of ball-shape the piece positions are preferably formed as ball-seat-like protrusions 2 and, for preventing any unauthorized view of that distinctive characteristic of each piece which faces the board 1, each piece is surrounded by a screen or shield 4. This screen 4 is made of a suitable non-transparent material and has a length substantially corresponding to the diameter of the balls 3 or generally to the' greatest distance between the opposed surfaces of the pieces 3. Preferably, the screen 4 fits on the protrusions 2.

In the embodiment shown the mussel-shell shape of the board 1 furthermore is such that the board is divided into two equal halves along a diagonal in the rhombic piece position pattern. Said two halves are hingedly connected with each other and have a cup-shaped, concave internal surface. By this it is achieved that the pieces 3 may be stored inside the collapsed board between opposing pairs of protrusions 2. By suitable choice of the depth of the concavity of the internal surfaces and by making the piece positions as ball-seat-shaped protrusions 2 the ball-shaped pieces 3 will be fixed in their positions, to which is added the stabilizing effect of the fitting of the screens 4, and thus the pieces are prevented from moving within the board during handling and are thus protected from being damaged.

The present game is played substantially according to the same rules as known games of the same kind. Assuming that the distinctive characteristics are the colours black and white, each of the two opponents, called Black and White, puts five pieces into the initial positions marked S; S and V; V respectively, in the drawings. Of these sets of pieces, four pieces are twincoloured while the remaining piece is all black for Black and white for White (the respective so-called real pearl). All of Whites pieces are placed with the white surface facing upwards and all of Blacks pieces with the black surface facing upwards, and each of the opponents selects a positioning of his real pearl that is unknown to the other. Since the surface of the pieces facing the board is concealed by the screen 4, the opponents do not know which of the others pieces is the real and thus most valuable, and this adds greatly to the thrill of the game.

The players alternately make one move, i.e., a movement of one of their own pieces, and the ulltimate goal is to reach first the remotest position of the opponents half of the board with ones own real pearl; these remotest positions are indicated with S and V respectively, in FIG. 4 of the drawing. Each move may comprise a movement only one step forward or transversely (but not backward) along marking lines to an empty adjacent position but it is also permissible to jump over ones own and the opponents pieces standing on adjacent positions, provided that there is an empty position in alignment therebehind. In this Way it is possible in one and the same move to jump over several pieces in a sequence in all directions (thus also backward) but it is not permissible to return to the initial position of that move. Furthermore the opponents may not for the purpose of delay repeat a move more than twice.

The opponents pieces which are jumped over during a move must be turned upside down so as thus to increase the number of the jumpers own pieces, and if the jumper jumps over the single-coloured or real pearl of the opponent, this piece is Won and must be removed. Although the goal of the game is to reach first the respective target position with the real pearl, it is permissible in moving to step on these target positions with a piece other than the rea but this piece is then lost and must be removed.

Thus it is possible for one of the players to conquer the real pearl of his opponent as well as first reach the target with his own real pearl. If the players both conquer the opponents real pear the game ends as a draw.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for playing a board game comprising a board having a plurality of game piece positions, a plurality of game pieces consisting of ball-shaped bodies, some of said pieces having two different distin guishing characteristics, one on each of the opposed surfaces of said pieces, to distinguish one of said opposed surfaces from the other of said opposed surfaces, and the remaining pieces having one of the two distinguishing characteristics on both of said opposed surfaces, and tubular shields of non-transparent material and having a length substantially equal to the greatest distance between the opposed surfaces of said pieces disposed around said pieces for concealing the distinctive characteristic on the surface facing the board, said positions on said board References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,315 8/1919 Emmons '273131 1,595,285 8/1926 Bevan 273-136 2,722,424 11/1955 Hum 273131 2,946,592 7/1960 Post 273137 3,128,098 4/1964 I Kolenda 273137 X FOREIGN PATENTS 883,3 79 3/ 1943 France. 926,897 4/ 1955 Germany.

DELBERT B. LOWE, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 273136, 137 

